Flint Energies Headquarters Completed

REYNOLDS – The new Reynolds Headquarters will fully open to members on Monday, May 2 at 8 am, according to Sr. VP Jimmy Autry. While services have continued uninterrupted during construction, members will no longer have to access the building through temporary doors on the west side of the building.

The construction process began in May 2014 and involved four steps: 1) construction of the new office building on the back side of the cooperative’s property, 2) moving employees into the new building, 3) demolition of the old 1960 building, and 4) completion of the front entrance and new community room.

Autry said: “We will have a public open house for members and the public to take a look ‘backstage’ at the new facilities on Sunday, May 22 from 2-4 pm.” Facilities will be open for tours with employees stationed to answer questions about the new building.

Flint Energies continues its commitment to the community where it all began as “Taylor County EMC,” said Autry. “The City of Reynolds stands as the geographic center of the co-op’s service territory that stretches from the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base through the electric system on the Fort Benning Army Post.”

Flint also improved its capacity by creating an operations center from a renovation and expansion of the former Trae Chevrolet building on the west side of town. The operations center site was completed last fall and is used for linemen, engineering, warehousing, truck sheds, an automotive shop and safety coordinators for the western portion of Flint’s system.

Flint Energies selected Parrish Construction to build the nearly 45,000 square foot one-story headquarters building on the 2.3 acre site, as well as the new operations center.

The new headquarters building houses Flint employees in the current facilities, as well as the addition of Technology & Communication Department staff relocated from other areas. Key features of the facility are the addition of a back-up system operations center to promote service reliability, as well as an auditorium that will accommodate all Flint employees and serve as a community resource. The current building was built in 1960 and had its last full renovation in 1981 when the office was expanded.

Flint Energies’ Facilities Committee, comprised of Board members and employees, added the Reynolds headquarters to the “to do” list when it was formed in 2003. Flint’s Board of Directors reiterated the need in 2008. In 2011, the Board restarted a building savings account to accumulate money to pay for new facilities. Also, the Board committed to a long term headquarters presence in Reynolds that same year. A long term plan was created for the location and future improvements for all Flint facilities.

In April 2012, a competitive process resulted in the selection of an architect and construction manager. JMA Architects and Parrish Construction were identified as the winning bidders in October 2012. In 2013, the decision to build a new headquarters facility was made. Priority consideration was first given to renovate the current Reynolds office, but the projected costs of a constructing a new facility not only reduced the footprint by 8,000 square feet, but also condensed the construction timeline by 8 months and minimized member inconveniences. The old headquarters was in great need for new mechanical systems such as heating and air conditioning and fire suppression and a new roof.

In 2011, Flint’s Board of Directors began setting aside money each month to pay for the new construction. “We will make the final payments now that the building is complete, so members will not be paying any mortgage interest on the building.

“Our Board fully realizes that all money is member-provided,” Flint’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Ray said. “They seek to be good stewards of those funds.”

The Reynolds Operations Center (ROC) houses a 13,300 square-foot warehouse, a nearly 11,000 square-foot automotive area and an 8,500 square-foot office on 15.6 acres. The ROC will house approximately 30 employees. The ROC, located at the old Trae Chevrolet site, replaces the current Reynolds warehouse, which will be renovated for utility storage. By using this location for corporate-wide storage, it will actually extend the life of the Cooperative’s Warner Robins Service Center for a few more years.

Flint’s automotive department moved to the ROC and the Cooperative demolished the old facility located at 2 South Macon Street, across from the headquarters building. Flint plans to convert the site to a parking area for auditorium use and the Cooperative’s annual meetings.

“Both the new headquarters building and operations center will allow us to better serve our members in our rural areas, replacing the old headquarters building which has exceeded its useful life,” said Ray. “Flint is committed to supporting our rural areas, especially Taylor County where Flint began, and actively demonstrate our Commitment to Community as part of the Touchstone Energy brand.”